The past creeps closer. “Is it an architectural gem?” asks architect Leonard Koroski, referring to Michelle Clark Middle School, at 5500 W. Harrison, a glass-walled modernist creation that has suffered from poor maintenance since being built in the early 1970s. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But it has a [thoughtful] plan with an interior courtyard, and we took the attitude of respecting it for its modernist tradition” (from the May issue of Focus, the newsletter of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects).
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There goes the queen of hearts! University of Chicago researchers Mathew Leibold and Amy Downing (now at Ohio Wesleyan) have found that when a reasonably complicated ecosystem–one that includes rooted aquatic plants, herbivores, and carnivores–starts losing species, it also immediately starts losing productivity. “The animals weren’t reproducing as quickly,” Downing says in a recent university press release. “The plant communities weren’t absorbing as much sun so they weren’t growing as fast. Everything was slowing down.” She adds, “It’s like a house of cards. As you build more stories, you’re going to have a more severe collapse when you finally pluck out a card. It all depends on how complicated your house is.”
“Despite changes in state law designed to hold landlords accountable,” writes Sarah Karp in the May issue of the Chicago Reporter, “many continue to find ways to keep their identities hidden beneath layers of paperwork. And city inspectors and attorneys charged with going after unscrupulous landlords don’t have the time or the technology to investigate repeat offenders.” Unsurprisingly, most of the properties owned by recidivist landlords (20 or more buildings with code violations since 1997) are located on the south and west sides.
